A Post About Post

During the lock-down period, I've been able to liberate a number of knitted items and send them off into the world.  My craft room was becoming overcrowded and it was high time they were popped in the post.

I sent this shawl to my friend Ann.  Knitted between February and May this year, from a beautifully soft combination of merino/alpaca and mohair/silk yarns, it's light as air but warm as toast and has a beaded edge to add a little weight and glamour.

Pattern is Winter Wander Shawl Yarns by Dragonfly Dyes and Henny Penny Makes

Ann is my mosaic tutor, as well as lovely friend, and someone you just have to hug when you meet.  Since it's still going to be a wee while til I can hug her in person, this shawl will act as a virtual hug in the meantime.

Another dear friend to benefit from my knitting skills is Vicki.  She admired this colour-work hat after I'd made it in January and I decided to give it to her.  While we've been unable to meet friends lately, Vicki has been giving a wave to her pals each week from one of her rural walks and sharing her photo on social media.  In this latest picture, she's wearing her hat!

Vicki is a nurse so it's particularly appropriate that she should be wearing this design called Harriet's Hat which has raised over £50,000 towards the Shetland MRI Scanner Appeal.  I bought this fundraising pattern last September when I learned the good folks of Scotland's northernmost isles were aiming to raise over one and a half million pounds to purchase an MRI scanner for their hospital in Lerwick.  Islanders must currently travel to Aberdeen by ferry for half a day, through one of the roughest crossings in our waters, then stay overnight at hospital before sailing home again.  The lady behind the pattern is Shetland knitter extraordinaire, Harriet Middleton, and her intricate design can now be seen in knitted hats, gloves, mitts and cowls, all over the world.

I used local yarn from J C Rennie, leftover from my Korat Sweater, to knit Vicki's hat plus some Kingcraig colours from a variety pack purchased at Dornoch Fibre Fest in 2017 and my chosen colours echo the appeal logo.  Isn't the star crown just beautiful?  You can purchase Harriet's Hat pattern here knowing 100% of the cost will benefit the Shetland MRI scanner appeal.

I knitted some tinier hats early in the year after a post on Instagram alerted me that a Glasgow hospital was running low on baby bonnets.  I always have suitable wool to hand, and hats can be knitted in a couple of evenings from just a little yarn.  Ideal telly knitting.  

This quote from Esther Rutter's enjoyable hand knitting travelogue around the British Isles I was reading at the time, This Golden Fleece, captured my feelings perfectly as I packaged my wee bonnets ready for posting:

...and in hospitals babies are welcomed with minute hats made by hands they'll never know

It was a request on a Facebook craft group I belong to that led to me knit these hearts for my local hospital.  I mentioned them in a previous blog post and now they've been carefully packaged and posted.  

Here's what the nurse who requested the hearts said:

Patient's families are so appreciative to have that little connection with a loved one near the end.

These hearts were mostly knitted during the hour of Sunday morning worship on television, since actual church services are not an option right now.  It's such  a small thing for me to do but obviously means a great deal to the recipients.

Tributes to the dedication of NHS staff throughout the Coronavirus pandemic have taken many forms as the nation shows its appreciation.

My own contribution to one such hand made tribute is this knitted letter for a banner stating 'East London Knitters say thank-you to all the NHS workers'.  I was allocated letter 'K' after Maya from Wild and Woolly shop in Hackney asked makers on Instagram to knit, crochet or weave the required rectangles.  Also involved are Knit With Attitude in Stoke Newington and Fabrications in Broadway Market as well as knitters from East London - and further afield.  

But I'm from North East Scotland - why would I join in?  Well, both my daughters live in London, not that far from these creative outlets, and I know I will be able to visit the capital, hug my girls and even see this banner in real life - at some point in 2020.  Something to look forward to - and a blog post of the future, no doubt.

So I've posted my knitting, and knitted in response to posts on social media, but sending it out into the world would be pointless without the postie!  I'm thankful that Royal Mail staff have been working throughout the lock-down period, ensuring everything I posted reached its destination.  

Colour in picture by Catherine Redgate Art

I'll be leaving my colouring-in inside our postbox to show my gratitude to our own postman.